Killer Says Bar Deaths Part Of Plan

The confessed killer of two men at an Orlando lounge last May testified Wednesday that Joseph Cammarano planned the robbery, supplied the gun and insisted that ''whoever was there would have to die.''

Dennis Potenzo, 24, who is serving two life terms for the killings, told jurors that Cammarano had learned there would be a lot of money that day at the Southern Nights lounge and talked him into the robbery the night before it occurred.

Potenzo, of New York, testified in Orange County Circuit Court that Cammarano did not have the stomach for the killings, and Potenzo agreed that he could do it ''if I got mad.'' They decided to kill anyone at the bar to avoid being identified, he said.

Cammarano, 20, also of New York, is on trial for first-degree murder in the deaths of lounge owner James Nuss, 38, and manager Joseph Romano, 26, who were shot in the head during a robbery.

His attorney, William Sheaffer, contends that Cammarano was duped by Potenzo and believed the two were going to the lounge to do plumbing work. Cammarano, who was a frequent customer at the bar, worked part time there as a plumber.

Potenzo said he agreed to testify because he wanted the state to give him life sentences instead of the death penalty. As part of the deal with the state attorney's office, Potenzo was not sentenced to any of three Florida prisons he particularly feared, he received drug rehabilitation and an armed robbery charge was dropped.

He also said that during his nine weeks in Orlando, he used an alias because there was a warrant for his arrest in New York on charges of armed robbery.

During nearly an hour of questioning by Assistant State Attorney Ray Sharpe, Potenzo said they carried out the robbery to support his heavy cocaine habit and because Cammarano was short on money and did not want to ask his parents to send him more. Sheaffer said Cammarano's parents sent him nearly $12,000 during his year in Orlando.

Cammarano will take the stand to tell his version of the killings after the state rests its case, probably by Friday.

Potenzo said he and Cammarano entered the lounge at mid-morning under the pretense of installing a toilet, but that he soon lost his nerve.

''I told him I was too scared, I couldn't do it,'' Potenzo said. ''Joey Cammarano told me to 'do it now . . . what are you waiting for? What are you waiting for?' ''

He said they finally agreed to kill Romano, who was in his office counting money, but Nuss unexpectedly entered the bar.

''I told him Cammarano I couldn't shoot two people in cold blood like that,'' Potenzo testified. He said he tried unsuccessfully to talk Cammarano into coming back another time.

At that time, Potenzo said, Cammarano got Nuss to follow him into the woman's restroom where the toilet needed to be installed. While Cammarano and Nuss were kneeling on the bathroom floor looking down a drain, Potenzo said he sneaked up behind them with the gun.

''Joey let him look at the hole and backed out. He said 'Now, now. Do it now.' I went behind him Nuss. He was starting to turn toward me, and I shot him . . . As soon as I shot him I kind of went into shock. I really didn't feel nothing.''

Potenzo said he then walked into the office, found Romano still at his desk counting money, and shot him in the back of the head.

The pair then grabbed more than $6,000, stuffed it into a blue bag they had and left the bar for Cammarano's car, which had been parked several blocks away, he said.

Before reaching the car, they were stopped by an Orlando police officer who thought they looked suspicious. Cammarano, who was carrying the bag of money, was arrested. Potenzo, who was carrying a gun in a towel, tried to kick it down a drain and then ran off. He was caught a short time later.

Under cross-examination by Sheaffer, Potenzo said he and Cammarano were not getting along, and that Cammarano had asked him to move out. He said, however, they ''were getting along great'' while planning the robbery.

Even though Cammarano did not plan the robbery until the night before, Potenzo said that a week earlier he shot two bullets through a towel in their apartment to see how well it would muffle the noise.

Potenzo said he had no particular reason for conducting the test.

He will take the stand again this morning and is expected to testify until noon. The trial, before Circuit Judge James Stroker, should continue until next week.